Another bit of multi-colored currency is about to make its way into your wallet. Meet Mr. Grant.September 27, 2004: 11:54 AM EDT
By Gordon T. Anderson, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - More redesigned American money goes into circulation Tuesday, when government officials become the first to spend a new $50 bill during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The new $50 front (click to enlarge)

The first purchase: an American flag, which is scheduled to be bought from Alamo Flags, a retailer in Union Station, the capital city's transportation and shopping hub.

The new look of $50 was first displayed in April at a ceremony at a printing plant in Fort Worth, Tex., where the notes are produced.

Generally speaking, the bills follow the aesthetic guidelines set out by the $20, which came out last year. The new $100, which is to be unveiled in 2005, is also expected to embrace the multi-hue approach.

On the new $50, pastel tones augment the old green and black color scheme, even more vibrantly than on the new $20. Ulysses S. Grant continues to be pictured, but his face appears more prominently, as Andrew Jackson's does on the $20.

The number 50 is presented in a variety of newly introduced fonts. On the back, the engraving of the Capitol Building has been altered slightly as well.

As they have in the past, government officials stress that the changes are intended to thwart increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters.

The new $50 back (click to enlarge)

"This $50 note is beautifully designed and includes important anti-counterfeiting features," said Federal Reserve Board governor Mark Olson, in a speech made at the unveiling ceremony back in April.

Among those features:an embedded plastic strip running vertically; a watermark image engrained into the paper itself; and color-shifting ink, whose appearance changes as you tilt the bill against light.

Most noticeably, of course, the bills now feature all the colors of an Easter egg.